Viaplay Group today reported second-quarter 2026 core operations EBITDA of SEK 458 million, up from SEK 133 million a year earlier on a reported basis, as digital advertising growth continued to outpace a structural decline in linear television advertising across the Nordic broadcaster's markets. The Stockholm-listed streaming and satellite television group published its January-June interim report on July 17, 2026, showing core operations net sales of SEK 5,509 million for the quarter and a total advertising sales increase of 0.2 percent on an organic basis, according to Viaplay Group.

Advertising sales barely move as channels diverge

Total advertising sales at Viaplay's core operations rose 0.2 percent organically in the second quarter, according to the interim report, a figure that masks sharply diverging fortunes within the advertising business. Digital advertising, spanning the company's advertising-based video-on-demand and hybrid video-on-demand offerings, continued to grow at a healthy pace, and radio advertising sales also increased. Both gains, however, were largely offset by an ongoing structural decline in linear television advertising, a pattern that has now persisted across multiple reporting periods.

According to the results presentation delivered alongside the report, advertising accounted for 16 percent of core operations net sales during the quarter, translating to SEK 899 million. That places it as the third-largest revenue line behind streaming subscriptions and non-streaming subscriptions, and ahead only of the smaller "Other" category, which includes sports rights sublicensing and scripted content sales.

CFO Johan Johansson, addressing analysts on the earnings call, did not single out advertising for detailed commentary beyond the headline figures, focusing instead on currency effects and cash flow. CEO Jørgen Lindemann's remarks to the call likewise centered on subscription dynamics and sports rights strategy rather than the advertising line specifically, though the written CEO statement in the interim report noted that "continued high levels of growth in digital advertising sales, as well as higher radio advertising sales" had offset "the ongoing decline in linear TV advertising sales."

The pattern is not new to Viaplay, nor to the broader European broadcasting sector. Connected television's share of media budgets has been projected to roughly double between 2023 and 2025, a trend PPC Land has documented across multiple reports on European media companies. The migration of ad dollars away from linear schedules and toward addressable, data-driven inventory sits behind Viaplay's own advertising mix, even as the company's total ad revenue growth remains close to flat.

Streaming subscriptions carry the quarter

While advertising sales barely moved, streaming subscription sales grew 7.1 percent organically in the quarter, according to the results presentation, the strongest performing line within Viaplay's core operations. Both direct-to-consumer and business-to-business channels contributed to the increase, with average revenue per user rising in both categories. The presentation attributed the ARPU gains to a higher proportion of premium sports subscribers, price increases, and what the company described as a reduction in the number of low-ARPU business-to-business subscribers.

Non-streaming subscriptions, which include almost all of the Allente satellite television business acquired in November 2025, moved in the opposite direction, falling 2.9 percent organically. The interim report attributed this to "long-term and structural changes in customer behaviour," language that echoes the advertising commentary and points to a broader theme running through the release: digital and premium offerings expanding while legacy, broadcast-era revenue streams contract.

Lindemann, in the CEO letter accompanying the report, wrote that "it is clear that the breadth and depth of our high quality and year-round sports offering is a consistent differentiator" for the company's streaming performance. On the earnings call, he elaborated on the sports strategy when pressed by an analyst from Kepler Cheuvreux about the loss of UEFA Champions League rights in Sweden from the second half of 2027. "It is about discipline," Lindemann said, adding that the company would walk away from bidding "when the business case does not support increased offers."

The subscriber base itself told a more complicated story than the revenue figures alone. According to the fact sheet accompanying the results, Viaplay's total streaming subscriber count stood at 4,242,000 at the end of the quarter, down from 4,250,000 a year earlier, and lower than the 4,278,000 or so implied by the seasonal patterns the company described. Management, addressing an analyst question about a roughly 200,000 subscriber outflow during the quarter, attributed the decline chiefly to seasonality and the earlier-than-usual expiration of certain sports leagues, partly tied to the football World Cup calendar. Lindemann told the call that "the sport actually continue to grow fairly well when it comes to both the D2C and also the B2B part," despite the headline subscriber dip.

The Allente effect on the numbers

Much of the year-on-year scale increase visible in Viaplay's reported figures stems from the consolidation of Allente Group, the Nordic satellite and broadband provider in which Viaplay acquired the remaining 50 percent stake in November 2025. Because Allente was previously reported as an associated company rather than a fully consolidated subsidiary, the comparison between this year's Q2 and last year's Q2 depends heavily on which basis is used.

On a reported basis, core operations net sales rose from SEK 4,160 million in the second quarter of 2025 to SEK 5,509 million in the same quarter of 2026, an increase of 32.4 percent, according to the reconciliation tables published with the report. Adjusting for the Allente acquisition and for foreign exchange movements, however, organic sales growth for the quarter was 0.7 percent, a figure the company has used consistently as its preferred measure of underlying performance. On a pro forma basis, meaning as if Allente had been fully consolidated for the entirety of 2025, core operations EBITDA before items affecting comparability rose from SEK 412 million to SEK 458 million.

The distinction matters for anyone trying to assess whether Viaplay's transformation plan, first outlined in earlier disclosures, is actually working or whether the improved headline numbers simply reflect a larger consolidated entity. Johansson, addressing the currency question directly on the call, said the quarter benefited from "an approximate SEK 110 million positive year-on-year FX effect" on core operations EBITDA, driven primarily by the strengthening of the Norwegian krone against the Swedish krona reporting currency. He cautioned that "we do still have significant currency exposure in the second half of the year, primarily in NOK, so these numbers can still move materially in either direction during the rest of the year."

The Allente integration itself, according to the interim report, remains on track with no change to anticipated synergies. Full run-rate annual cash cost synergies of between SEK 300 million and SEK 400 million are still expected from January 2027, with integration costs, expected to total between SEK 270 million and SEK 330 million, mostly recognized as items affecting comparability during the first half of 2026. The company reported SEK 203 million of such integration-related items affecting comparability for the first half of the year, which it described as being well in line with the earlier guidance.

Cash flow turns positive, but debt remains elevated

Viaplay reported group free cash flow of SEK 113 million for the quarter, comprised of SEK 176 million from core operations and a negative SEK 63 million from non-core operations, according to the interim report. That compares with SEK 823 million a year earlier, a figure inflated by working capital timing effects that the company has said will not repeat. Operating cash flow, before changes in working capital, totaled SEK 197 million for the quarter, a marked improvement from a negative SEK 31 million in the prior-year period, according to the fact sheet.

Financial net debt stood at SEK 5.12 billion at the end of the quarter, described in the report as broadly unchanged from the roughly SEK 5.2 billion recorded at the end of the first quarter. The ratio of net debt to trailing twelve-month pro forma EBITDA improved to 4.5 times, down from 4.7 times at the end of the first quarter, according to the results presentation. Johansson told analysts that "further deleveraging depends on stronger cash flow and the end of non-core cash drag in 2028," a reference to the ongoing cash costs tied to legacy content agreements in markets Viaplay has already exited, which the company expects to total approximately SEK 500 million in 2026, SEK 400 million in 2027, and SEK 200 million in 2028.

The company disclosed, in the significant events section of its report, that it had entered into an agreement on July 1, 2026, to sell its Dutch streaming and broadcasting operations, a transaction that Viaplay agreed to sell to Videoland, the DPG Media-owned platform, for EUR 142 million, or approximately SEK 1.57 billion, on a cash and debt-free basis. The sale, still subject to regulatory and lender approval, is expected to close in the coming months and is intended to reduce net debt while concentrating the group's operational focus on the Nordic markets. Analyst Christopher from Kepler Cheuvreux asked Lindemann directly why the deal had not happened years earlier, when the company was already shrinking its international footprint. Lindemann responded that Viaplay had "received a number of unsolicited offers and in the end decided to take clearly the best price and also where we saw the biggest certainty and also where we had speed," adding that the timing was also driven by the desire to complete the transaction before certain sports rights begin in August and September.

Content costs and the inflation squeeze

Operating expenditure for core operations rose year-on-year, according to the CEO's letter, primarily reflecting inflation embedded in legacy and multi-year content agreements. Content costs, according to commentary on the earnings call, account for roughly three-quarters of Viaplay's total cost base, with sports content representing the largest single component. Lindemann told the call that as these legacy agreements are renewed on more competitive terms, or replaced with alternatives, "the inflation will be less in the second half of the year and also increase less next year." The inflation pressure was offset to a meaningful extent by selling, general and administrative efficiencies, including initial synergies from the Allente integration, together with favorable foreign exchange effects.

The company reiterated its full-year 2026 financial targets without change: core operations sales are expected to be stable year-on-year on an organic basis, while core operations EBITDA before items affecting comparability is guided at between SEK 1.0 billion and SEK 1.4 billion. Longer-term, Viaplay continues to target a double-digit EBITDA margin by 2028, a step up from the 5.3 percent pro forma margin recorded in 2025. Lindemann, asked by an analyst to summarize the building blocks behind that target, pointed to "the relevance of the content, and the sales related to that content," together with ensuring content is acquired "on market terms," whether through renegotiated legacy contracts or alternative arrangements.

Timeline

  • 13 November 2025 - Viaplay Group completes the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent of Allente Group, assuming full ownership and beginning full consolidation of the satellite and broadband provider into its core operations segment.
  • 7 April 2026 - Viaplay Group publishes notices and Nomination Committee proposals for its 2026 Annual General Meeting of shareholders.
  • 30 April 2026 - Viaplay Group announces an agreement to show UEFA Club competitions in Denmark, Norway and Finland until 2031.
  • 12 May 2026 - Viaplay Group's 2026 Annual General Meeting passes all proposed resolutions.
  • 25 May 2026 - Viaplay Group announces the acquisition of Viaplay Group class B shares as part of a long-term incentive programme.
  • 1 July 2026 - Viaplay Group enters into an agreement to sell its Dutch operations to Videoland for EUR 142 million.
  • 17 July 2026 - Viaplay Group publishes its Q2 2026 interim report, showing core operations EBITDA of SEK 458 million and organic advertising sales growth of 0.2 percent.

Summary

Who: Viaplay Group AB, the Nordic entertainment and streaming company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker VPLAY B, led by President and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann and Chief Financial Officer Johan Johansson.

What: The company published its second-quarter and first-half 2026 interim report, showing core operations EBITDA before items affecting comparability of SEK 458 million, organic core operations sales growth of 0.7 percent, streaming subscription sales growth of 7.1 percent, and total advertising sales growth of 0.2 percent, with digital and radio advertising gains offsetting continued declines in linear television advertising.

When: The report was published on July 17, 2026, covering the quarter and half-year ended June 30, 2026. A conference call to discuss the results was held the same day at 09.00 Stockholm local time.

Where: Viaplay Group is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and operates its streaming, satellite television, and radio businesses across the Nordic countries, with additional streaming operations in the Netherlands pending the announced sale of that unit.

Why: The results matter to the advertising and marketing community because they illustrate, in granular financial detail, the continued migration of television advertising budgets away from linear broadcast schedules and toward digital, addressable formats, even within a single company's own reporting. The near-flat 0.2 percent organic growth in total advertising sales, produced by offsetting a shrinking linear TV advertising business against growth in digital and radio advertising, offers a concrete data point for media planners and programmatic buyers assessing how quickly Nordic television inventory is shifting toward connected and hybrid video-on-demand formats.